1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hood airbag device that deploys an airbag over a hood of a vehicle when the vehicle collides against an impact object.
2. Background of the Invention
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-262955 describes a hood airbag device in which an opening is formed at the rear end portion of an inner hood panel and extends along the lower end portion of the windshield in the lateral direction of a vehicle and an airbag module is mounted through the opening.
The airbag of the above-cited reference has a generally U-shape when viewed from above and generally large enough to cover the bottom area of a front pillar as well as the rear end portion of the hood and the cowl. This requires that the opening formed in the inner hood panel and an in-hood reinforcement should be relatively large. For this reason, the rigidity of the inner hood panel, and potentially the hood, are reduced.